Speaking at a White House summit last week, U.S. President Barack Obama gave his recommendation for countering violent extremism in the digital age. “We have to confront squarely and honestly the twisted ideologies that these terrorist groups use to incite people to violence,” Obama said. “We need to find new ways to amplify the voices of peace and tolerance and inclusion, and we need to do it online.”

The spate of brutal and systematic attacks on Christian communities in Syria, Iraq and Egypt by Islamic State (IS) has surged. Yet despite this targeted violence, there's a climate of international indifference by many governments and even some Christian communities in the West toward this modern-day religious persecution.

U.S. President Barack Obama put the White House's Summit on Countering Violent Extremism on the right track by bringing into focus the central issue of these times: the preservation of religious freedom, national security and personal dignity for all. Extremists, draped in the stolen robes of faith, debase all of these aspirations.

China's development will generate huge opportunities and benefits and hold lasting and infinite promise, Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping told business executives gathered in Beijing for the APEC meeting. As China's overall national strength grows, China will be both capable and willing to provide more public goods for the Asia-Pacific and the world.